BECKER -- The state champion Becker Bulldogs were honored as being one of the top high school sports teams in the country by MaxPreps.

MaxPreps, a national high school sports media outlet, visited Becker as one of fifty stops on their Tour of Champions and a trophy and banner were presented by SSG Jon DuBois of the Minnesota National Guard.

The Becker football team, fresh off an undefeated season in which they took home their second straight championship, was ranked #216 nationally for 2015. Each year, teams' rankings are computer generated based on criteria like strength of schedule and quality wins.

"It's really good and fun to see kids win," says MaxPreps Regional Representative Glenn Martin, who presented the award. "When you see a program like [this] -- doing it the right way and being successful -- it makes it all the better."

"We're very humbled by it," says Becker's head football coach Dwight Lundeen. "This is a great honor, there's been two football teams in the state to be honored -- Eden Prairie and Becker -- so that's a nice crowd to hang around with."

Beau Pauly's state championship rings. (Photo by Isaac Schweer, WJON)
Beau Pauly's state championship rings. (Photo by Isaac Schweer, WJON)
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The award is also a "cherry on top" of the high school careers for seniors like Dillon Radunz and Beau Pauly, who signed commitments this week to play football at North Dakota State University.

"It's crazy, all the work we put in and how everything worked out," Radunz says. "I knew we were good, but this is beyond anything I thought."

"It makes me think of 4th and 5th grade football," Pauly says. "You don't picture yourself being in this position -- especially with going to college after two state championships -- you just don't think about that."

Pauly and Radunz will go from a high school team that won two consecutive state championships to a college team that has won five consecutive national championships in the NDSU Bison.

"Having that target on your back -- it's a special challenge," Pauly says. "We're looking forward to it."

 

Photo by Isaac Schweer, WJON
Photo by Isaac Schweer, WJON
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